The League of Extraordinary Map Makers
by Legend Of The Wind
Summary: While happy to be back at Hogwarts, Josiphine Roberts -a 5th year Gryffindor- finds herself contending once again with the mischief and mayhem of the Marauders as they begin their greatest gift to man kind, The Marauders Map.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
Welcome Home**

Sirius Black was not only one of the most handsome boys at Hogwarts during my years, but he was also the most foul, dim-witted, mischievous, monstrosity to walk the castle halls - and, well, that explains a lot.

Josephine stormed though the castle, soaked head to foot in a vibrant blue dye, which could not mask the fire in her eyes.  
"You little gits!" She yelled, marching into the Gryffindor Common Room, nearly toppling over a small first year. "Every damn year!" She stared down at four boys, who were innocently watching her fit of rage.

"But whatever are you talking about? Every darn year? We didn't get you last year..." James Potter raised a smirk.  
"Yeah," squeaked in Peter Pettigrew, "You out-smarted us, but we learn quick! Padfoot still had a scar and, well-" He was suddenly cut off by a sharp elbow in his side.  
"We knew you'd try again," Sirius Black flashed a grin of the devil, "So we had a backup plan." He nodded towards a small bucket next to Remus Lupin's chair, where he was reading innocently. Josephine's eyes darted towards the mousey brunette, who had his Prefects badge messily pinned to the front of his sweater.

"I'm sure that your new Prefect power over your friends is working well, Remus," Josephine accused.  
"Don't make me a part of this, Jo. You and I both know they wouldn't listen." Remus added, still intent in his book.  
"Not even to our ickle Prefect," James added to Remus' disapproving glare.

Josephine crossed her arms, making her way towards the girls dorm. Every year since her first year at Hogwarts, the Marauders had found some way to get under her skin on the first Saturday of the new school year. They had done everything from jinxing her in the back to spiking her pumpkin juice at breakfast. During her fourth year, she decided to fight back, which had landed all of them in the Hospital Wing for a night. Feuds like this don't just happen, one witty argument between two first years after Sorting was enough to make a life-time battle.

"See you later, Josephine," Sirius winked his goodbye, which was returned with daggers.  
"Don't call me Josephine." Jo made her way up the stairs, and into her dorm to be rid herself of the blue dye.  
"Would you prefer Miss Roberts, then?" Sirius' call and the following chuckle amongst the Marauders was muffled by the slamming of the girl's dorm door.

"I would call that a mission accomplished, wouldn't you, mates?" Sirius leaned back in his armchair to James' laughing response.  
"You really should be nicer to her." Remus interjected from behind his book.  
James let out a snort, "And why is that, Moony?"  
"You're siding with the enemy!" Peter squealed.  
"No, I'm just saying she doesn't have any friends as it is, the three of you are just making it worse."  
"It's not our bloody faults that she doesn't have any friends! She's completely mental!" Sirius barked.

Remus closed his book, "Really, do you honestly think that you've never done anything to her that scared off any potential friends? And you can't blame it solely on her, she's really not that bad if you would just stop and be nice to her for three seconds of your life, in fact, I personally find her to be quite an interesting person to talk to." Remus' words were met with wide-eyed stares from his fellows.  
"What?" Remus rolled his eyes and buried his nose in his book.  
"I think she brainwashed him to say that," James said, eyeing Moony.  
"She has one friend, that Hufflepuff girl, Cygnus I think..." Peter added quietly.

Sirius stared at Remus the longest, mulling over his words with an almost horrified expression that soon turned to a look of amusement, "I think we need to be keeping a better watch on Moons over there. He's got a whole life we don't know about."  
James chortled, "Got any info about Evans that you want to share?"

Josephine appeared at breakfast the next morning with streaks of blue still stained into her raven black locks. She sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, avoiding the giggles of two Slytherins in her year who were making their way to their own table.

"Ahh, Roberts," Sirius slid down the bench into an empty spot across from her, "I see we're doing well today."  
"Save it, Black," Jo stabbed a piece of French toast and plopped it onto her plate with such ferocity that one would worry about the fork's well-being.  
James and Peter took a seat next to their counter-part, and Remus slid down next to Jo, looking quite exhausted.  
"Bickering like an old married couple," James mumbled as he took a large gulp of pumpkin juice.

Just then, a petite Hufflepuff with short blond curls framing her face tapped James on the shoulder.  
"Excuse me, James, but Lily is out in the Entrance Hall, apparently she wanted to talk to you..."  
James sprang forth from his seat, "What?!" The girl nodded with a hopeful smile as James sped out of the Great Hall. Before anyone could react, she slid in between Peter and Sirius.

"She's not out there, you know," Remus said, looking up from his meal.  
"Oh, I know." The girl smiled.  
"Yes, Cygnus?" Josephine cracked a grin at her friend.  
"You know, you've got a little... Something.." She said, pointing to her own hair.  
Josephine frowned, "Yeah, I know. Lily tried to help get it out, but it didn't work as you can see."  
"We can ask Madam Pomfrey if she has anything for it..." Cygnus said, hopefully.  
"It'll go out eventually," She frowned, as Cygnus got up quickly while an unsettled James burst into the Hall after a stomping Lilly.  
"I'll see ya' later, Jo." With that, Cygnus disappeared back to the Huffelpuff table, and James returned to his spot.

"So, how'd it go, mate?" Sirius leaned in with a grin.  
"Eh, just as well as ever," James let out a chuckle.  
Remus smirked as Peter let out a snort, and Sirius chimed in with a laugh. Josephine rolled her eyes and got up from the table, she grabbed a thickly bound book, and made her way to the library. Sirius' eyes slid after Jo as she headed out the heavy doors of the Great Hall.

Time soon found the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins brewing away at a Muffling Draught. Professor Slughorn wandered through the room, checking in on students as their time neared an end.

"Alright students, time to bring forward your brews! Bottle them very carefully, we don't want a repeat of Miss Roberts' incident last week." He chuckled kindly, but Jo's cheeks still twinged red. Josephine's skills were never in potion making, but having Lily Evan's as a table mate did have it's perks. The class filed up to Slughorn's desk and each student placed a small bottle. Severus Snape and Lily always had the best potions, and this time was no exception. Their brews both shined with a silver tint, whereas nearly every other potion only managed a dull bronze color.

Next up was the dull routine of History of Magic. The class was as quiet as ever, and the only thing that could be heard was the soft snoring emanating from Sirius, and the occasional, quiet scratch of Remus' quill. Josephine boredly doodled on her notes, nearly nodding off, until a quiet crinkle caught her attention. A small paper swan flew gently onto her desk, and unfolded itself.

_You going to the quidditch tryouts later?_

Jo picked up her pen and scribbled.

_I might as well, I don't have anything else to do._

The note folded itself into a square and disappeared with a quiet swish, returning to Cygnus's desk. Cygnus gave her a quiet nod as Professor Binns turned about and assigned a foot and a half of parchment on the effects of the Goblin Right's movement of 1832, then dismissed the class.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Well, this has been going better than expected. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! I've edited it slightly because of a few embarrassing grammatical mistakes, but all is well now. Anyway.. Back to the story._

* * *

**Chapter 2  
****Quidditch****  
**

Two o'clock rolled around and soon Cygnus, Josephine, and a few other students were found walking down to the quidditch pitch to watch tryouts. The air was misty and unseasonably cold, and not to Jo's surprise, the stands were nearly empty. She found a seat next to Remus and slid in, Cygnus in tow.

"Oh, hello Jo. Cygnus," he nodded kindly.  
"Where's Peter at?" Cygnus asked, glancing around, her eyes finally resting on Remus.  
"I think he's working on the History of Magic essay. He's always so nervous about those kind of things.."  
"Ah." She pulled a box of biscuits from within her robes, "They're raspberry." She grinned as Remus and Jo both helped themselves before everyone's attention snapped to the field where students were taking to the sky. Keepers were set up at each end, and prospective Chasers buzzed about, with James overseeing from above.

"I've never understood why you don't try out, Remus. I've seen you playing with James and Sirius you're honestly not half bad," Jo remarked, grabbing another biscuit.  
"But I'm not that good. And I'm not entirely well enough to be on the team." He quickly shrugged off what he had said and directed her attention to a chaser that was performing a steep nose-dive, but Jo was left bothered. Remus was always sickly and worn, and frequented the hospital wing, but she never understood why. He always displayed a calm fondness of his friends, and was one of the kindest, most gentle people she had ever known; yet somehow, he seemed ill and damaged to his very core.

The group watched in silence until another all too familiar voice chimed in.  
"Well, what do we have here," Sirius smirked as he stepped down a row on the bleachers and wedged himself tightly between Remus and Jo. Remus gave him a look, "Yes, Sirius?"  
"What? I'm not allowed to sit with my two favorite people in the world? Oh, our lil' Hufflepuff is here too," He grinned towards Cygnus who quietly rolled her eyes.  
"Don't you have somewhere better to be?" Jo accused. Sirius leaned back.  
"Oi! School wide event, I can be here," Sirius grinned at Josephine, who's frown lessened a bit as she refocused on the players as they all landed their brooms. James sauntered up the stands and planted himself in front of Sirius and Remus.

"Well, that went well," He removed glasses and rubbed the sweat from his brow, a sarcastic droop in his voice.  
"Did it?" Jo asked cautiously.  
"No," He eyed her suspiciously, "We don't have much of a team. McCade will be our Keeper as usual, Donalds, Portson, Beaters again. Lynch, and Decker will be the new Chasers, and they're not the best. Oh, and Smalls will be staying on as a Chaser."

"Oh! By the way! I found what we were looking for," Sirius interjected, pulling out a large piece of blank parchment and holding it out to James. "It should do the trick." Before he could grab it, however, Remus snatched it from Sirius' hands and gave him a stern look.  
"Do you really think this is the time or place for this?"  
Sirius shrugged. "It's just a spare bit of parchment," he said with a wink.

* * *

That night Josephine sat awake paging through an old copy of _Omens, Oracles & the Goat_, and thinking all of the standard nighttime things. What would she have for breakfast? Would it be cold? Rainy perhaps? And most importantly: _why in Merlin's beard was she reading about goats? _Then of course she heard the crash, like a chair had been smashed in the common room. She quietly pulled the curtains back from her bed and pulled on a dressing gown. Jo slipped through the dormitory door and flitted down the steps and cautiously poked her head around the corner.

Several things met her eye all at once: Remus was waving his wand to repair a completely shattered and singed arm chair; Peter was passed out in a small heap next to the bottom of the stairs, clutching what appeared to be an embroidery hoop; James was hastily chasing a small owl that was flying about the room in a panic; And Sirius was attempting pat out an ever-growing fire on one of the tables.

"What the hell are you doing!" Jo violently whispered stepping out from the stairs.  
"Uhm, Nothing," Sirius began, turning around in an attempt cover up the crackling flames, "Nothing at all now why don't you just go back to bed, eh Jo?" She stared at him in disbelief as she drew her wand and sent water sprinkling over the blaze.  
"Just 'go back to bed'!" She replied in disbelief, "It is three in the morning what the in the name of Merlin's pants are you doing?"  
Remus stepped forward shyly, "Writing a letter..." He said, testing the waters. There was a thud as James hit the floor, the hooting owl in his arms.  
"Why else wold we need a bloody owl, Roberts!" James exclaimed as he walked over to the window and released it into the night.

Jo gave them a violent glare and stomped back up the stairs. She knew they were liars, but it was much too early for this.


End file.
